One series can only be considered at the forefront of a particular genre that gives it its own identity or face; that series in question would be To Love Ru. It has had a rough start in adapting to the source material by not providing a coherent narrative to the manga. It has made a name for itself for being one of the top ecchi anime, thanks to the later seasons that are somewhat “reboots” if you want to take it that far. Now comes To Love Ru Darkness, a separate manga that continues the story of To Love Ru to breathe new life into its characters and comedy. To put it bluntly, it is a triumphant sequel that exceeds all expectations.

“That’s a perfectly natural behavior for a living creature,” says Mea Kurosaki. This quote itself, in which the word “that” is supposed to signify sexual thoughts, encapsulates the entirety of To Love Ru Darkness’s charm. It tells us how we should view Darkness as nothing more but a fun joy ride through joyous comedy and beautiful girls through sexual feelings, but we shouldn’t be ashamed by this mere fact alone. That is one of the main selling points of the show. It lives off of making us feel excited through hilarious incidents of girls in suggestive situations without making it feel demeaning or deliberate to either of the sexes. This aspect alone that To Love Ru Darkness expresses should be an example that all Ecchi shows should follow, which sadly isn’t always the case.

Now to express how all the things I mentioned in the previous paragraph work, unlike in most shows in what Darkness follows, the one thing that works is how every character carries the show with their likability despite their very cliched nature. Cliched in that, you have Yui Kotegawa, the stereotypical tsundere who wants order in the classroom. Nana, who’s another tsundere. Mikan, the younger half-sister who loves him. Yami, the Dandere psychopath. And Haruna, who the protagonist has feelings for, yet she so happens to be in love with him. Despite how many would view cliches as a negative term, however, how Darkness handles them is through sheer charm and personality makes them feel energetic and alive. You even feel contempt for them whenever drama happens between the characters, even with their stereotypical archetypes. However, if one character must have one entire paragraph alone to analyze would be the one and only Momo Deviluke.

Because she is the new heroine of the series, replacing Lala, Momo is what makes Darkness unique. Thanks to the glorious voice of Aki Toyosaki, Momo’s sarcastic and devious personality makes her such a delight to see on-screen. The best is when she has one of her humorous fantasies and clever schemes to make the girls fall more in love with Rito. With these things in mind, you might think that Momo’s personality only gives off this one-sided aspect, primarily being a devious pervert throughout the show. I want to describe a scene involving her and Rito in a gym closet room in the last episode. Momo is on top of Rito, seducing him as usual, until we suddenly see Rito finally give in to his instincts and do the same things to her. Then we suddenly see Momo in a very vulnerable state. It isn’t until later that we find out it was just another fantasy that Momo imagined while on top of him. This fantasy she envisioned took her by surprise, something which we had never seen her go through before. It wasn’t until Rito finally tried to stop her by putting his hand on her arm, which suddenly surprised her, and she jumped away from him quickly in fear and respite with her constant breathing and blushing face. We now see Momo in a completely different light than we are used to seeing her before. This scene alone makes Momo a three-dimensional character not through general exposition but character interaction.

Something that has changed from previous installments of the series is the art direction. While all characters still look the same, everything is now colored in very bright overtones. While many can argue that Motto To Love Ru's art looked better in terms of how the characters looked, that should not disregard that Darkness’s art still looks excellent in keeping the traditional manga art in context with the show. I’ve always admired the series, and more so in Darkness is how they’ve always drawn the girls and their figures that look gorgeous without overemphasizing anything on their body like other ecchi shows tend to do. Thanks to this, the girls look like high school-aged girls who have just hit their period of going through many body changes.

To Love Ru has not been widely known for having an impacting story to show forth underneath its charming fan service; it wasn’t until Darkness that we do have one that fills this very gap. Generally, most people will think that the writers wouldn’t bother writing a competent story because it is an ecchi series, and those typically don’t go so well. While Darkness doesn’t break any new ground in this aspect, it has an exciting twist in the harem genre where the heroine is doing all the work to help our protagonist get all the girls. As I mentioned with Momo’s schemes, her intentions in doing these are very well-handled in how it balances sweet romantic moments and pure fun comedy. Thankfully, there isn’t a sudden tonal shift between drama and humor to make it edgy. The plot might not be a deep one to experience. It doesn’t try to be one in the first place and sticks with it, which is very well appreciated.

As a protagonist, I would say Rito can be grating at times in how slow they build him up to be a harem leader after years of seeing him flustered over women falling over him. In Darkness, it still portrays Rito as if he hasn’t experienced a girl falling on him in a questionable position before, even though we’ve seen him in the past in these types of positions countless times before. You’d think he would get used to it by now and not be phased by it after all these months. He still has some moments where he comes across as caring and likable to everyone he meets, so there’s never really a moment where you think to yourself, “Why would any girl fall in love with this boy in the first place?”

Onto the comedy itself, needless to say, there will not be one person who is into suggestive comedies to be disappointed with Darkness. Almost every situation is handled with great comedic timing. Whether it be a scene involving Rito bumping into a girl and, in true ecchi fashion, being in an awkward position or a scenario that’s in a constant pace in showing jokes that involves hilarious dialogue, a great example would be between Nana and Mea or Momo, or vice versa. Not all of them hit the right notes throughout the show’s duration. Still, it will nevertheless entertain the masses who love to engage in hilarious perverted comedy like myself.

Not only do the characters themselves make the show enjoyable to watch, but the voice acting is what gives them their endearing personality through the sheer talent that Darkness brings to the table. I’ve already mentioned Aki Toyosaki previously, but she’s not the only great Seiyuu in the casting. Kana Hanazawa plays wonderfully as an upstanding little sister for Rito and gives Mikan a clear voice that feels perfect for her. Nana and Momo are among the best sister duos in anime, thanks to the great chemistry between Itou Kanae and Aki Toyosaki. They have previously worked together in a somewhat similar situation in Railgun. Only this time, it’s Aki who plays the devious one instead of Kanae, and it shows that Aki’s voice does fit with that archetype more than Kanae. Finally, we have Kaori Nazuka as Yui Kotegawa, probably one of the best tsundere roles we have had in a long time. Her authoritative voice, combined with childlike embarrassment, will surely make any man’s, no matter what age, heart burst with joy and pure ecstasy.

It all comes down to that Darkness won’t win any new fans that aren’t into something like To Love Ru, but even with that said, it is something that you should still at least try to see once to see if it pulls you in. Anyone who is a fan will feel right at home with this new installment that has so much to offer for ecchi fans and people who are fans of the series for more than the fan service. It will be funny and sometimes heartwarming in its romantic undertones for everyone who has followed the franchise. That will ultimately lead to our hunger for more, and for now, with the OVAs coming out to continue it. For now, Darkness is more than enough for us to enjoy while we wait for the next extensive anime installment for To Love Ru.

Grade: A